Recently, an image forming apparatus, such as a printer, copier, etc., may be provided with the function of notifying a user when a supply of the image forming apparatus needs to be replaced, for example, as described in the Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-260502.
However, such notification indicating that the supply needs to be replaced is not necessarily useful to a user who is not in charge of maintaining the image forming apparatus. Especially when the notification is printed on a recording sheet, a current printing job performed by the user may be interrupted due to this notification function. Further, the notification may contain confidential information that should not be disclosed to the general public such that outputting the notification may not be preferable.
On the other hand, an administrator, who may be in charge of maintaining the image forming apparatus, is not always capable of checking a display or an output of the image forming apparatus. Even when the image forming apparatus displays or prints the notification indicating the need for replacement of the supply, it may take time for the administrator to obtain such notification.